MAD Warfare Podcast

FREE SPEECH, NOT FREE REACH — Hacking the Algorithm for Good with Dr. Swapneel Mehta We know the algorithm is messing with us. But what if we could mess with it back? In this episode, we're joined by machine learning scientist and digital trust builder Dr. Swapneel Mehta, who's worked at Twitter, Adobe, Slack, CERN, and MIT—and now leads SIMPPL, a nonprofit restoring digital trust across seven cou...

Ep 009: PROTECT YA NECK: How to Train Your Brain Like a Black Belt with Sam Carus   What do martial arts, PSYOPs, and surviving a near-death experience have in common? It's (nearly) all in your head.  In this episode, we sit down with Sam Carus—lifelong martial artist, special operations veteran, and founder of Randori Resources—to explore what martial arts can teach us about cognitive defense, ci...

They say to understand power, follow the money. But what if instead… you followed the comedy? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Solvita Denisa Liepniece , a strategic communication expert who coined the term "hahaganda" to describe how authoritarian regimes use humor to influence, manipulate, and erase. 😶‍🌫️ We cover: — How Kremlin-backed sketch shows used Nazi references to smear political r...

How do you measure the success of a kill shot? A character cancellation? A diss track that hits harder than a drone strike? It's never as simple as "target down." But that's often how success gets measured in war—and in culture. Short-term wins. Long-term fallout. No real accounting for what stories we're cementing along the way. So in this episode, we're stepping into one of the most uncomfortabl...

Hitchcock warned us. We didn't listen. Perhaps the bags can save us. madwarfare.com

The guy who helped Travis Scott go viral breaks down the fame machine and modern influence warfare. What if your favorite artist got famous not because of talent, but because a guy in a mullet built a botnet in his basement? This week on MAD Warfare, Shane Morris (see: botnet guy) joins us to break down the brutal mechanics of fame, manipulation, and narrative warfare. Shane helped grow MySpace to...

Drowning in data? Wondering what's REAL? Let alone what's worth acting on? Well well well, YOU'RE IN LUCK, dear Mad Stans. Because today's guest is none other than intelligence analysis trainer Jeremy Levin—here to show you how the pros separate signal from noise (and maybe save society while they're at it). Come for the stories from real military and intel experiences (some are too secret to shar...

If you could replicate your own brain, what would you have it do? And if everyone could do it (even your worst nemeses) ... what could POSSIBLY GO WRONG. Buckle up, because this is when "what if" turns into "what's next." In this episode, Chris Acha—our big brained tiny organoid maestro—takes us on a wild tour inside the fascinating world of brain organoids.  From electrifying brain cells (yes, we...

Ready to have your mind blown? In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Nicholson turns the battlefield of conflict into a playground of transformation. She reveals how spiritual experiences can flip the script on warfare and mend our fractured human spirit, all while keeping things intriguingly unexpected. Get ready to uncover the secret sauce behind unconventional healing—diving deep into the hidden dynamic...

If war, business, and politics are about influencing what people think and believe, then pro wrestling might be the greatest training ground of all.   Legendary wrestler Al Snow joins us to talk about the art of working a crowd, selling a story, and getting in your head. Listener beware: Once you learn how the game is played, you'll never watch a speech, debate or rally the same way again.   *****...

One of the weird things about war these days: ALL OF US are on the battlefield—even if we didn't realize it.  Didn't sign up for this? We know. War is sneaky like that. But here you are, caught in the fight over what you think, believe and do.  In this first episode of  MAD   Warfare , we fire our opening salvo of ideas on how to define war, why cognitive  warfare  is the new frontline, and why we...